“Cathy” Comic Ends With What All Women Want… Pregnancy!

October 3, 2010

The internet gave a collective ACK! in August when it was announced that the 34-year-strong comic strip “Cathy” would be ending its one-note run. Far from a cultural touchstone and even further from a feminist hero, upon the announcement the New York Times called the Cathy character — based loosely on creator Cathy Guisewite — “slightly overweight, somewhat insecure and perpetually single.” The end of the series, then, seen above, is in some ways a total shocker! Then again, come on.

Ms. Guisewite, 59, said the autobiographical strip has been “the most astonishing form of therapy,” but her “creative biological clock” was ticking and she wanted to try something else — although she is not sure what.

There was also this announcement: “The final strip is scheduled for Oct. 3, after the end of the swimsuit season.” Which is representative of both the eye-roll-inducing, lazy humor of “Cathy,” built almost entirely around gaining weight and problems with Mom, and the contagious laziness of jokes in response. There is this though:

On the other hand, one overly earnest commenter on the official site had this message for the artist: “Congratulations, Cathy! Thank you to the real Cathy for sharing ‘Cathy’ and her life with us all!” As for us, next weekend we’re stuck with “The Family Circus.”